Internship Program

Are you interested in learning more about the inner workings of history museums--either as an introduction or a deeper dive into an aspect of the museum field?

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) offers internships to qualified applicants who are excited to engage in a professional learning experience!

**Please note: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all Fall 2020 internships at NMAH will be virtual professional experiences. The internship opportunities listed below have been confirmed to be virtual internships for Fall 2020. To accommodate this switch to virtual internships for Fall 2020, our internship application deadline has been postponed to June 22nd at 2 PM EST.**

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According to the Smithsonian's Office of Fellowships and Internships, an internship is a "workplace integrated learning experience related to academic or career goals guided by a Smithsonian mentor." In other words, internships at NMAH are professional learning experiences through which an intern learns, under a mentor's guidance, about a museum field that interests them academically or professionally.

An internship should be relevant both to the intern's academic and professional goals and to what we do here at the museum, and all Smithsonian internships are prearranged and structured to take place within a specific time period (fall, spring and summer).

What internships are offered at NMAH?

Click here to learn more about upcoming internship opportunities at NMAH! NMAH has offered internships in every department of the museum, including (but definitely not limited to!) curatorial and collections management, museum education and audience engagement, exhibition design and production, communications and marketing, special events and donor relations, and museum operations. However, the specific internships offered each cycle (spring, summer, or fall) depend on mentor availability and upcoming possible internship projects.

Each internship cycle (spring, summer, and fall) has its own application schedule and deadline.

**Please note: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all Fall 2020 internships at NMAH will be virtual professional experiences. The internship opportunities listed below have been confirmed to be virtual internships for Fall 2020. To accommodate this switch to virtual internships for Fall 2020, our internship application deadline has been postponed to June 22nd at 2 PM EST.**